Bandai Namco's latest Dragon Ball project, Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot, has been the center of attention for Dragon Ball fans for some time now. With the resurfacing of the franchise through Dragon Ball Super, fans have never been so hungry for more Dragon Ball content. Of all the characters in the franchise, Gohan is by far the most nuanced of the bunch. A half-saiyan, half-human hybrid, Gohan has been trained by Namekians like Piccolo, and even Kaioshins like the Supreme Kai himself. As a result of this, his battle-torn childhood, and his own personal ambitions, Gohan has learned some unique techniques which he is sure to utilize fully during the course of the game.
For those less familiar with Dragon Ball, Gohan is the son of Goku and Chichi. He is something of a fan favorite, although many think his potential as a character was wasted after the Cell Saga. Numerous characters in The original Dragon Ball Z comment on Gohan's incredible latent power, and he's a devastatingly powerful when he draws on it. Players will have the ability to play Gohan in Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot, unlocking his hidden power throughout his life and putting his unique moveset to good use. There will be smaller and unique moves like "Dragon Hammer Fist" and "Rapid Fire Ki Wave," but what might his special moveset consist of?
Masenko
This move is unique to Gohan and Piccolo, so it is assumed that Piccolo taught it to him during their training before the Saiyans arrived on Earth. Gohan spreads his fingers, placing his hands above his forehead, and fires a yellow energy blast. This move is similar to the Kamehameha, although seems to be unchargeable. For all of Gohan's early years, this is his most powerful move, and he uses it several times throughout the Saiyan and Frieza Sagas. Gohan even uses this in his adult form a few times, but players will undoubtedly have access to this move early on.
Masenko Variations
Although Gohan learns the Masenko technique from Piccolo, he was quick to make it his own. Throughout Dragon Ball Z, Gohan uses several variations of Masenko against his foes. Masendan is a technique developed by Gohan, in which rather than firing masenko as a beam, Gohan charges its energy into a ball and throws it like a grenade. Gohan uses this technique against Frieza as a child primarily. Another variation of the Masenko beam is the explosive Madan, which is effectively a quick, destructive, short-range Masenko. Gohan uses this technique against Dabura at the beginning of the Buu Saga, but it may be available to players sooner than that.
Super Saiyan
Gohan is the fourth Super Saiyan in the series (including Future Trunks), but it is not his transformation into a Super Saiyan which was his greatest accomplishment. Rather, Gohan was the first in the series to reach Super Saiyan 2, a feat he achieved during his climactic battle with Perfect Cell. This pform will be available to players as a transformation, and will likely be necessary to defeat Perfect Cell at the end of the Cell Saga. Although the other Saiyans achieve this form eventually, at this moment, Gohan was the most powerful of all the Z Fighters.
Kamehameha
The final battle against Perfect Cell comes down to a Kamehameha battle between the villain in Super Saiyan 2 Gohan. Surprisingly, this Kamehameha is actually the first Gohan ever fires, and has since been dubbed the father-son Kamehameha because Goku's spirit assist him. As stated before, the Kamehameha is similar to the Masenko, but it is more powerful, takes longer to be charged up, and can be charged beyond its initial power. Following his battle with Cell, Gohan uses this move frequently, and players are sure to do the same when looking to punish those who have let their guard down. The Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot demo shows that players will have access to the Kamehameha ability as Teen Gohan even before the final Kamehameha dual with cell, but this makes sense as he clearly knows how to use the technique by this point.
Ultimate Gohan
Following his triumphant victory at the end of the Cell Saga, Gohan's character takes an interesting turn. He is struggling with his own desire to become a scholar and his responsibility to be a strong fighter in order to protect what he loves. When the threat of Majin Buu arrives, Gohan trains with the supreme Kai himself, who unlocks much of his potential. This gives birth to a new, unique form known as Ultimate Gohan. This form proves to be incredibly powerful, as Gohan is able to fight Super Buu with ease, something that Super Saiyan 3 Goku would struggle to do. Players will have access to this potent form for only a short while though, as Buu absorbs Gohan after tricking him into letting his guard down.
Fighting Prowess and Intelligence
Although Gohan has few techniques compared to other characters, his true strength lies in his strategic intelligence and fighting prowess. Gohan is by far the smartest character in Dragon Ball Z, and has also proven many times to be an excellent hand-to-hand combatant. This has been replicated in other Dragon Ball video games, as Gohan has many powerful physical Rush attacks. Most of these attacks, such as "Leave My Daddy Alone!" and "Soaring Dragon Strike" are based off scenes from the anime (the former being a reference to Kid Gohan striking Raditz and the latter a reference to Gohan's flurry of blows against Cell). It is likely that this trope will carry on into Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot.
Gohan plays a major role throughout the story of Dragon Ball Z, so players should have the opportunity to play Gohan quite a bit in Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot. These are just a few of the moves that Gohan is likely to have available to him, but unfortunately not much else has been shown in trailers and screenshots for Gohan. The Cell Saga trailer and the demo for the game show quite a bit about Gohan, including some of these moves and a few more that weren't covered. Either way, fans won't have to wait long to get their hands on Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot and level up Gohan into the warrior they always wanted him to be.
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot will be out on January 17, 2020 for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
Source: Bandai Namco